Microcontrollers are used in a variety of control environments. It is often desirable in such environments to accurately generate complex signals, such as triggers for peripheral devices, that vary in time and frequency responsive to internal and external events. Typically, the microcontroller's processing core itself has been used to provide control over generating such signals. However, processor driven timing solutions are subject to processor latencies which cannot necessarily be predicted. This can result in inaccuracies and timing inconsistencies when time-critical events, requiring generation of responsive triggers, occur. Furthermore, to the extent that the processor core can be used to control such timing, the amount of processor overhead may be significant.
As such, there is a need for improved systems and methods for generating signals responsive to time-driven events. There is a further need for improved systems and methods for generating trigger signals to coordinate peripheral actions.